Newsletter 66newsletter.sirpeterleitch.co.nz/files/mb_newsletter-66.pdfOn the Cricket World Cup By Murray Deaker N OTHING compares, in fact there’s nothing in the same ballpark

Sir Peter Leitch’sMad Butcher Club

Newsletter #66AT MT SMART STADIUM, HOME OF THE MIGHTY VODAFONE WARRIORS

2 April 2015

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Black Caps You Did Your Country Proud!

IT was meant to be a fabulous weekend for New Zealand sport, but the Blues lost, the Crusaders lost, the Phoenix lost, the Sevens lost, we lost, and worst of all, the Black Caps lost the World Cup final.

A paltry 183 was never going to be enough and Australia cruised to the title.

But we live to fight another day. It is only a game of sport, and we need to keep it in perspective. There are people fighting illnesses and suffering other problems in their lives, and it is only a game.

And to be fair, the Black Caps have given us much to smile about over the length of the tournament. As I have said, I have never been much of a cricket fan until now. The Black Caps have taken me on a terrific jour-ney and even if we did not get the big prize, I am proud of how they played, and the fine wins in tight games will live with me a long time.

So despite all the promise, we ended up empty-handed.

But my thanks to the Black Caps – you have been magnificent, and turned a retired butch-er into a lifelong fan!

Photos courtesy of www.photosport.co.nz

Happy Easter

Mad Butcher Club Newsletter Page 2

BRISBANE spoiled our first ever opening night in 1995

and did it again on Sunday when they won our 20th anniversary match 24-16.

Win and it would be three from four for the Vodafone Warriors, but it was not to be.

I know fans were grumpy with some of the refereeing, and when Matt Cecchin indicated a try to us early on, there were boos all round when the video ref overturned it for a knock-on.

I should have known it wouldn’t be our day because if that was bad, it got worse, a lot worse.

We made more mistakes in the first half than a kid in a spelling bee, and we were just horrible, go-ing in at halftime 16-0 down, and awfully lucky it was not a lot more.

At one stage the Broncos had 25 sets and completed 23 of them while we managed only nine from 14. The Broncos also led the penalties 4-2 and made just three errors to our 11.

When that happens, you are going to do a lot of tackling, 215 of them to the Broncos 102.

And when that happens, you al-most always pay the price.

But amazingly we clawed our way back into it.

Chad Townsend scored and Shaun Johnson converted, then Matt Allwood got his first try for us, and and Solomone Kata locked it up at 16-16.

Johnson won’t know how he missed but he did and before we knew it Cecchin had blown a

penalty a blind man could have thrown over, and we were minutes from defeat at 18-16 down.

What was a dismal day was made even worse when the Broncos scored on the death to make it 24-16.

Stars Turn Out

In the lounge we had a host of stars.

I had been out on the Saturday night with two legends, Andrew Johns and Wally Lewis, and they both visited the lounge, as did players from the inaugural season Whetu Taewa,

Mike Doreen, Gene Ngamu and Logan Edwards.

The tallest boxer in the world, 7-footer Julious Long from Detroit was there. He fights in Auckland on April 17 and I would not like to be the man in the other corner.

TV show The Crowd Goes Wild presenters Andrew Mulligan and Mark Richardson dropped in, with the former Black Cap look-ing pretty good for a man who had just completed a triathlon. Mark was quick to give us his insights into the looming World Cup Cricket final that was our last chance to salvage something from the weekend.

As we all know, it was not to be.

Check out the photos later in the newsletter!

Happy EasterHave a good one!

Ryan Hoffman, left, and Nathan Friend celebrate the try of Solomone

Kata (at rear).

Shaun Johnson in action.

Solomone Kata shrugs off a tackle.

Simon Mannering offloads the ball.



Good for a Laugh

My mate Don sent me this link about Sam Tomkins returning to Wigan.

I thought it was very funny and that you might enjoy the chance to read it too.

Subject: 6 reasons Sam Tomkins should stay at the Warriors and not go back to Wigan

Click here to view...

Cruel blow for Ben Henry

Injury is always a possibility that players have to live with. But poor Ben Henry has had more than his fair share of bad luck.

Now the Vodafone Warriors back rower has suffered a season-end-ing injury for the second time in less than two years, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Sunday.

The 23-year-old had been on the field only eight minutes when he injured the same knee he had sur-gery on after a training accident in 2013.

Ben missed most of that year and now has to face going through another knee reconstruction.

Henry also injured the knee in his NRL return against St George last March but initial fears of anoth-er ACL issue were allayed when scans indicated he had a cartilage tear instead. He returned a few weeks later, playing a total of 16 games before having offseason surgery.

He was in the line-up from the opening round of the club’s 20th anniversary season and made his

50th appearance in the first home game of the year against Parramat-ta.

Henry joins Sam Tomkins (knee), Sam Rapira (hamstring), Ken Maumalo (hamstring), Konrad Hurrell (knee), Glen Fisiiahi (shoulder) and David Fusitu’a (shoulder) on the injury list.

Rapira, Ken Maumalo (ham-string), Fisiiahi and Fusitu’a are on target to return soon while Ngani Laumape made a successful come-back from a knee injury for the club’s NSW Cup side last week.

NSW Cup Side Into Second

A 14-point rally catapulted the Vodafone Warriors to an 18-16 win over North Sydney at Mt Smart on Saturday. The win was the third in four starts, lifted the Vodafone Warriors into second, two points behind the unbeaten Mounties.

The success came at a cost, though, with George Carmont forced off the field in the first half with a knee injury; it was the 36-year-old former Newcastle and Wigan centre’s third match back.

In truth it was an ugly win, but I’ll take it.

After their last two matches at home, the boys are on the road to

meet fourth-placed Wyong next Sunday.

Juniors Up To Third

The Vodafone Junior Warriors are third on the ladder after smashing the Broncos 40-14 at Mt Smart.

It was their third straight victory, taking their total of points scored to 122 in those three victories while conceding only 48.

After leading Brisbane only 16-10 at halftime, the Vodafone Warri-ors dominated the second spell. Standoff Ata Hingano’s points har-vest continued, scoring a try and kicking six goals for 16 points.

Ben Henry in agony.

Semesi Tyrel on the burst.

Bradley Abbey scores his second try!

Thought for the Week

Always remember, if you wake up in the morning, there’s not too much wrong in your life!


http://www.sportal.co.nz/league/nrl-premiership/six-reasons-why-sam-tomkins-should-stick-with-the-warriors/372pcyzsg7a71q3zwpe66mv5u


New Faces In Line-Up

Ngani Laumape and Sebastine Ikahihifo are back for the Storm game and their first NRL appearances of the season, while Vodafone Warriors back rower Ryan Hoffman celebrates his 250th on Monday (7pm NZT).

Laumape comes into the centres and Ikahihifo has been called in to replace Ben Henry on the bench.

Hoffman will have special cause to relish his return having played 245 times for Melbourne.

He has scored three tries in his first four games but both teams go into the Easter Monday on the back of losses.

The Storm are seventh and the Vodafone Warriors ninth.

The last time we went to AAMI Park we won 16-10 to give Andrew McFadden his first win as coach.

While Hoffman provides the milestone focus for this match, veteran wing Manu Vatuvei chalks up his 199th appearance leaving him set for 200 at home against the Wests Tigers on April 11. Only Stacey Jones (261) and Simon Mannering (216) have played 200 games for the Warriors.

1 Tuimoala Lolohea2 Jonathan Wright3 Ngani Laumape4 Solomone Kata5 Manu Vatuvei

6 Chad Townsend7 Shaun Johnson8 Jacob Lillyman9 Thomas Leuluai10 Ben Matulino

11 Bodene Thompson12 Ryan Hoffman

13 Simon Mannering ©Interchange

14 Nathan Friend15 Sebastine Ikahihifo

16 Sam Lisone17 Albert Vete18 Sione Lousi

No Way Back For Bunny

South Sydney player Kirisome Auva’a has lost in a bid to appeal his suspension from the NRL. Auva’a sought leave to appeal the suspension imposed by the NRL after he pleaded guilty to recklessly causing injury in a domestic issue.

The suspension imposed was for a minimum of nine months and the NRL ruled any application to return to the game would not be considered until he demonstrated behavioural change designed to prevent the recurrence of violent behaviour toward women.

Auva’a sought leave to appeal but the NRL Appeals Committee found there were no grounds.

Bring on the Storm

The Vodafone Warriors travel to Melbourne to take on the Storm this week.

After what was, by their standards, a very disappoint-ing showing against the Broncos, they owe their fans one, so expect a much better showing this weekend.

We always seem to cop Melbourne after something that will motivate them though, and this time will be no different after they lost to some Jonathon Thurs-ton magic, 19-18 to the Cowboys in Golden Point.

Thurston set up a try, kicked a stunning conversion, then levelled it with a field goal, then snatched the win with another one in extra time, leaving Storm players on their knees all over the park.

Round 5 , Mon 06 Apr, 5:00 PM (local), AAMI Park

Vs.


On the Cricket World CupBy Murray Deaker

NOTHING compares, in fact there’s nothing in the same ballpark. The 2011 Rugby World Cup final was tense, anxious, frightening and as a spectacle nothing short of

dreadful.

Tiger Woods at Augusta was memorable because of his explosive power, arrogant strut and brilliance, all of which only made him more distant from the crowd.

Nelson Mandela at Ellis Park in 1995 not only inspired the Springboks to an unlikely World Cup win but united a country torn apart by the evils of apartheid, but that’s from another world.

I have been fortunate enough to see great deeds at Twickenham, Cardiff, Wimbledon, Lords, Fenway Park and Candlestick Park, but nothing compares to the Black Caps at Eden Park against South Africa.

It will live in the memories of all who were there for the rest of their lives. Nothing compares. How can it?

This is the summer of our youth being played out again at a time when we can truly appreciate it and not just accept it as of right. Long, hot, endless days just the way they were, or more accurately the way we remember them from when we were young. Days when we are learning to dream again, to believe in and witness mira-cles.

For those of us who are cricket tragics how else can you describe it? We have endured the taunts, the snide remarks about cricket losers, the derisive cry of Black Craps. Where are the critics now?Actually, we couldn't give a toss, because this is our moment. This is what we have dreamed about.

We knew our time would come. It hasn't been easy to be a cricket fan, let alone a Black Cap fan in this rug-by-mad nation, but the World Cup made the wait worthwhile.

Eden Park was a melting pot of colour, noise, passion, heroics, disasters, tears, joy, ecstasy and agony. This was not a ground for the fainthearted. It was a field for dreams.

This was not the crowd I sat in when we won the Rugby World Cup in1987.That crowd was passive, thought-ful and nearly all white and male. It was not the crowd I sat in when we won it again in 2011.That crowd was tense, worried, humourless and with a sense of mission, not dreams.

This crowd was different. It certainly wasn't passive or tense. It was vibrant, fun-loving , full of energy and passion. There seemed to be as many women as men. It was a crowd that wore its heart on its sleeve, that sang the National Anthem with gusto, that cheered and enjoyed itself.

This was a crowd that reflected the new Auckland. From my vantage point in the back of the South Stand (I forgot to get tickets until the last moment), there were as many Indian, Pakistani and Asian Kiwis screaming for our team as there were white and Maori Kiwis. In fact it is the Indian Kiwis who deserve special kudos. They never stopped yelling , dancing chanting and waving flags.While on the subject of flags, anyone from that Eden Park crowd will tell you that you don't need a referen-dum to decide on a flag. We already have hundreds of them and they are all black with a silver fern.

We don't need some wishy-washy, green and blue, environmentally-sensitive hunk of cloth. We know what we are - black flag, silver fern. We always will be.

Some things have changed. It is now alright to scream, yell, wave our flag, dance, sing and stamp. Most of all it is fine to dream, and what is even better, to live your dreams. Continued on next page...

Continued from previous page...

I went to Melbourne for the final, no ticket and no place to stay.

What I did have was a spring in my step, joy in my heart and a dream. Nothing compares.

• And this is where the surprise comes in. Murray contacted me to tell me that he sent this article to Bren-don McCullum in an email of congratulations. “Almost immediately I received a note back from him. He said he wanted me to have one of his seats. I met him the day before the final at his hotel, where we had a yarn for about 40 minutes. The seat was the best in the house - just in front of the players’ box. Great seat but the MCG did not compare to the atmosphere at Eden Park for the semi. Nothing will.”


And here is the proof. Now if that is not a story to confirm how well the Black Caps con-ducted themselves throughout, how down to earth and ap-proachable, and basically what good bastards they are, I do not know what is. Thanks for sharing that with us Deaks!

Welcome Home Blackcaps Ceremony at the Cloud on Queen's Wharf

New Zealand’s captain Brendon McCullum addressing the

gathering.

Crowd gathered at Queens Wharf to welcome home the Black Caps.

Ross Taylor signing autographs.

THIS WEEK IN BIG LEAGUE’S ROUND 5 ISSUE…Fullback heroes, Kiwi buddies, Penrith’s inspiration, Cowboys’ slow starts and we reveal why Greg Inglis won’t leave rugby league.

FEATURES• There a four new faces among the fullbacks this season and they’re charging ahead. We take a look at how Brett Morris, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Will Hopoate and Jack Wighton are settling in to their new roles;

• When Peter Wallace popped into a junior league training session when he first started first grade, little did he know that a young Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was there and it would be the moment he committed himself to making the NRL himself;

• Monday’s win is hopefully a turning point for North Queensland’s season but slow starts have been a feature of their game for the past five seasons and we try to figure out why;

• When Sio Siua Taukeiaho arrived at Roosters training he had no idea he would be reunited with childhood friend Isaac Liu, who he hadn’t seen for at least 10 years;

• Rothmans Medal winner Mike Eden knows how important a game in Albury this weekend is for the game. He’s the reason Manly shifted a home game there!

PLUS… Anthony Watmough wonders why efforts are being made to fix the game when there’s nothing wrong with it and says reducing the interchange would be pointless; Matt Elliott breaks down what is working for Newcastle that has them 4-0 in 2015; Nathan Brown looks at whether the gap between the top sides and the bottom teams can be closed from this point.AND: Official team lists, Warren Smith’s Big Clash preview of Storm v Warriors, lower grade reviews, News: Inglis not leaving league, Titans have sponsor and ground in pipeline, live Sunday football is a hit, Parra on the hunt for an outside back; and Manly Sea Eagles team poster.

Contact details: Editorial – [email protected]

Advertising: [email protected]

THIS WEEK’S ISSUEOn sale at newsagents, supermarkets and at the ground from Thursday, April 2.

DIGITAL VERSIONAvailable via www.zinio.com

NOW AVAILABLEthrough Apple Newsstand and Google Play for $39.99 for the year.JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Neville Denton 1934 - 2015


Rugby league lost an-other former KIWI with the passing of Neville Denton, Kiwi no 359. He played for the Kiwi's from 1954 to 1963. He was a great mate of mine. May he rest in peace.

Ex Kiwis Reunion Lunch

Old Boy Warriors

On Wednesday some former Kiwi players and managers caught up with Motu Tony (also played for the Warriors) who has lived in the UK for 11 years now. He is back home for a few weeks and will be our special guest in the Stacey Jones Lounge when we play the Tigers on the 11th of April at Mt Smart.

From the left, Pat Carthy(ex manager), Sir Peter(ex manager), Motu Tony, Awen Guttenbell, Jerry Seuseu, Gordon Gibbons (Ex manag-er), Ruben Wiki, Logan Swan. In the front Stacey Jones and Monty Betham

The old boy Warriors. The num-bers in brackets is their Warriors no.

Whetu Taewa(5)Mike Dorren(25)Gene Ngamu(6)Dean bell(10)Logan Edwards(21)Duane Mann(9) Big Joe Vagana(18) talks to Albert

Vete in the shed

Women’s pre-season rugby league

The Marlins went down to Randwick 30-20 but it was a good battle until the end by both teams.

The Game was played at Davis Park Trentham There was some solid defence from our ladies and Randwick’s more experienced players.

The Marlins were happy with the result from the 1st 13 aside game for the Ladies.There are definitely some ladies to watch this season ie: Aggy Faraimo (Player of The Day), two sisters Sherri and Tawny Burgess again showed there experience, both crossing the chalk twice, solid hit ups and defence from Azia Tua (C), 80 metre try by Winger Shayna Kidwell-Te Runa. The next pre season game for the Marlins women is 12th April at McEwan Park 2.30pm against Petone Panthers

article supplied by grassroots360.co.nz & Mike Hall (Marlins)

This Sunday at Whakatiki Street

12s Kick Off 10.30am14s Kick Off 11am

Tournament draw will be sorted on the day.

Please contact Brent Rikiriki 0211601579 for details.

Please txt Brent with your team confirmation.

Wellington 16’s & 18’s V South Island Bernie Wood Turf, Ascot Park, Porirua

8th April- 16s 2.30pm, 18s 3.45pm9th April- 16s 1pm, 18s 2.15pm

Dwayne Waterman on Seven Sharp

Dwayne Waterman (Petone & Wainuiomata Rugby League, Wellington Orca & NZ Resident player) was announced the biggest Warriors fan after winning a photo competition on Seven Sharp.The photo was taken on Dwayne’s Wedding day. If you would like to view the TV story please click on the link below.

http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/biggest-warroprs-fans-video-6271605

From the Wellington Rugby League Clubs Newsletter. Go check it out!

News from the Deep SouthHERE are the photos of Brad Mooar (Coach of the Southern Stags rugby team in Invercargill) with Wally

Lewis and Wayne Bennet. Brad has just spent a week with Wayne on the Gold Coast as part of his coaching program and LOVED THE EXPERANCE.

Photos from The Mad Butcher Club in the Stacey Jones Lounge


Andrew Johns gives his views on Shaun Johnson.

Andrew Johns and Wally Lewis, two league legends, and good mates came into the lounge to chat with the fans.

Wally talking to the crowd about his Epilepsy. Not a dry eye in the house.

Very moving.

You want to Google these guys, they truly are legends.

Give Julius Long a Google.

Bill Wavish, chairman, talks to the crowd about the fight to stay at Mt

Smart. Read his letter on pg 13.

Andrew Mulligan co-host of radio sport broke into song after the photo.

Brooklyn Prescott from Christchurch. His Granddad Phil is well known in

local Rugby League around NZ and is a top bloke.

Boxing announcer for all the big fights in NZ. LT Dan Hennesey. Man

he can shout!

Boxer Julius Long from Detroit USA came to his first Rugby League game. He cant wait to come back! He also

loved the Mad Butchers meat.

Great talking to Gene Ngamu.Having a very funny interview with Logan Edwards.

Mark Richardson, co-host of radio sport and former Black Cap, gave his

views on the cricket world cup.

Me and the Whanau of Reno Wilkin-son who is the breakfast host on radio

station NgaIwi FM based in Paeroa. He is a great supporter of the

Vodafone Warriors.

Photos from The Mad Butcher Club in the Stacey Jones Lounge


Great photo of baby Taylor trying to grab a Brendon McCollum mask.

Proud Mum Nadia and Taylor wear-ing his fist Vodafone Warriors jersey.

Graham Wright from Vodafone , Nadia Budge, Dale Budge and baby

Taylor Budge. Taylor received his first ever Vodafone Warriors jersey cour-

tesy of the Mad Butcher Club.

Graham Wright from Vodafone, Erin and baby Isaac, a big Vodafone War-

riors fan at 3 months.

Erin and Isaac showing off his new Warrior top courtesy of the Mad

Butcher Club and it even suited him!

Kaden, Tamm and Lane Drove all the way up from Wellington to watch the

game!

Bart de Beucker and Sharrah Aldred both from Vodafone enjoyed their

first lounge visit.

Robert Thompson a very proud Grandad with his daughter Erin and

baby Isaac.

The pommy boys: Neil, Peter, Sam, and Andy wanted to make Sam feel at home so they bought him some Pies.

Peter and my great helper Lorraine with Sam.

One of the pommy lads, Andy, scoring a TAB bet from Brendon Poplewell. Sadly Shaun Johnson

didn’t score the first try, so he didn’t win.

• 5x 2015 NRL Season Guides - Not available for purchase in New Zealand

• 3x Double Passes for Warriors v Tigers game on Saturday 11th April


20 Years of Vodafone Warriors Giveaway

Draw Extended because of Public Holiday - Now Draw on:Friday 10 April

To be into win 1 of 17 amazing prizes just send a stamped, addressed envelope or postcard to me in the mail with your name, address and phone number on the back to the address.

Hurry to be in to win some fantastic prizes for FREE! All you have to do is just send a stamped addressed envelope to me in the mail (details below) and you could win

one of 17 great prizes.• 3x (1 Signed) Vodafone Warriors 2012

Limited Edition Player Card Handbooks (contains 32 player profiles) courtesy of Wendys

• 4x Vodafone Warriors Caps - 2 of Each

• 1x Signed Vodafone Warriors Heritage Jer-sey - This Jersey has every Warriors player ever on the back. From Warrior 1 Dean Bell to the 192nd Warrior Tuimoala Lolohea.

• 1x NRL Auckland Nines 2015 Tee Shirt 2XL

Name:Address: Phone Number:

20 Years GiveawayP.O Box 54295The Marina 2144,Manukau, Auckland


Dear Vodafone Warriors FanBy Bill Wavish - Chairman of the Vodafone Warriors

The Warriors Need Your Help!!Last Sunday I spoke to Butch's guests before the game at the Stacy Jones lounge, requesting their help to get our case across to Auckland City Councillors, regarding what I regard is the Vodafone Warriors' poor treat-ment and lack of respect from Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA)

Here are what I regard as the facts:1. RFA has a plan to move Cricket from Eden Park to Western Springs; Speedway from Western Springs to

Mt Smart; and Vodafone Warriors to either Eden Park and / or North Harbour Stadium. (Cricket now say that they only want to move for SOME games)

2. A lot of money would be wasted upgrading North Harbour and changing Mt Smart to suit Speedway.3. Vodafone Warriors as a sport brings the most economic benefit to Auckland - MORE than rugby union,

speedway, basketball or cricket. And that's before you add the benefit of the Dick Smith Auckland NRL Nines. Fortunately the much smarter guys at Auckland Tourism and Economic Development (ATEED) know and agree this.

4. Recent crowds of 14,200 and 14,700 at Warriors; 5,500 and 11,500 at Blues; and around 3,000 at Speed-way and Cricket bear out the popularity and commerciality of Rugby League in Auckland.

5. ATEED understand that if RFA forces Warriors to play some games at Eden Park and the balance around NZ (I think you would agree that we will not play at North Harbour) then Auckland cannot expect to retain the NRL Nines.

We have now had two games at our home this season and each time we have had close to 15,000! Our great crowd in the 25,000 seat Mt Smart stadium close to the field, was electric. Fortress Mt Smart!! How differ-ent the atmosphere would have been if we had a similar crowd, further from the field, rattling around at the 46,000 seat parking-less Eden Park!

When this brewed up a few months ago Mayor Len Brown asked both parties (RFA and Warriors) to "take a breath". This we did and nothing good or otherwise happened, so I am now suffocating.

What is needed is:1. RFA, ATEED, NRL and Warriors to sit down and work out how to economically make Mt Smart ap-

propriate to NRL standards - my guess is around $20 mil - which can be recovered from the existing proposed expenditure on North Harbour (what a waste) and fitting Speedway into Mt Smart involving demolishing stands. I suggest that ATEED be involved because they can understand numbers.

2. Let the incoming CEO of RFA to have a blank canvas to look at Mt Smart without bias.

Fortunately we have a water-tight lease at Mt Smart until 2018 - and a council election in the meantime But this absurd plan has hung around far too long and needs to be quashed.

PLEASE RING YOUR LOCAL COUNCILLOR AND ASK THEM TO CLEARLY STATE IF THEY SUP-PORT VODAFONE WARRIORS REMAINING AT MT SMART, OR OTHERWISE, WHY WOULD THEY SUPPORT SUCH A HARE-BRAINED RFA SCHEME.THIER DETAILS ARE ON THE VODAFONE WAR-RIORS WEB SITE MAKE THE EFFORT AND SEND THEEM A EMAIL OR RING THEM I CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT THE OLD BAIAS AGAINST RUGBY LEAGUE IS REAPPEARING - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Information as to all the local councillors is on the Vodafone Warriors website.

Thanks in advance for your help - Bill Wavish - Chairman of the Vodafone Warriors


Hornby Centenary of SuccessBy John Coffey QSM

HORNBY is arguably Canterbury’s most successful sports club. Not only that, but Hornby is the current New Zealand Rugby League Grassroots Club of the Year. Not bad accolades for an outfit which will cele-

brate its centenary over Easter weekend.

There is plenty to celebrate too. The title of “Canterbury’s most successful sports club” was bestowed by The Press newspaper when the Panthers beat fierce rival Halswell Hornets in the 2013 grand final. That triumph in double extra time clinched Hornby’s 27th championship victory, 11 more than any of its rivals.

Since grand finals were introduced by the Canterbury Rugby League in 1967, decades of Hornby coaches and players have expertly timed their runs to capitalise on the play-off format. The Panthers have been in 21 grand finals, six in succession at one stage, and won 15 of them.

Former Kiwis hooker Wayne Wallace should have booked a camp site at the Addington Show Grounds dur-ing those heady days. Wallace was involved in a dozen grand finals as a player, player-coach and non-playing coach, and seldom went home without a winner’s medal. In 2001 the winning team he coached included his sons, Sam and Toby.

Wallace bows only to the great Mel Cooke as Hornby’s most celebrated player. Cooke played in 22 consecu-tive Tests from 1959 to 1964, was a unanimous choice at loose forward in the NZRL Team of the Century in 2007, and was an inaugural member of the NZRL Legends of League. He captained the Kiwis during one of their finest eras.

Cooke and Wallace were among 18 Kiwis chosen from Hornby. The entire front-row of Ross Taylor, Wayne Wallace and Adrian Shelford which featured in the classic 1987 Test victory over Australia at Brisbane were all Hornby products. Plus team manager John Bray, himself a 1964 Kiwi and now an NZRL life member after an illustrious administrative career.

Current Kiwis assistant coach David Kidwell came through the grades at Hornby. The club also has three youngsters on the fringe of NRL first grade – Fa’amanu Brown and Penani Manumalealii at Cronulla and Rulon Nutira at St George Illawarra. Corey Lawrie went from Hornby to the Warriors in 2004 and Logan Edwards and Shane Endacott were other Hornby juniors who played for the Warriors.

Because Hornby was a separate township until urban sprawl extended Christchurch city to the country, family ties have always been strong. The Woodgate clan, for example, has been directly involved for 97 of the first 100 years. Brian Langton, a 1960s Kiwi, recalls you could virtually throw a blanket over the homes of most senior players in his heyday.

Leslie Park has long been Hornby’s headquarters. The clubrooms were erected by volunteer labour, with Kiwis captain Cooke utilising his carpentry skills and Langton completing the joinery before going to Britain in 1965. They and their team-mates warmed up for Saturday games and spent Sunday morning “recovery” sessions hammering nails.

Those recently renovated clubrooms will be abuzz over Easter, with functions on four evenings from Thursday, and football on Friday and Saturday. Guest speakers at Sunday’s gala dinner are Mark Graham, David Kidwell, Wayne Wallace and Clayton Friend.

The 112-page centenary book, Panther Pride, can be purchased from the club .Phone 03 349 7000 www.hornbyrugbyleague.co.nz


Latest in Northland SportBy Ben Francis

Northtec Adam Blair Trophy Final

TOMORROW the Northtec Adam Blair Trophy Finals are on at Lindvart Park in Kaikohe starting at 1pm. Kaitaia College and Whangarei Boys High School will be playing for the Adam Blair Trophy after domi-

nating their semi-finals against defending champions Kamo College and Kura Hokianga respectively to make the Ada, Blair Trophy Final. This game will be kicking off at 4:00pm A 36-0 win for Kaitaia and 62-4 win for Whangarei Boys has set up for an entertaining final. Kamo College and Kura Hokianga will be playing in the 3rd and 4th playoff which will kick off at 1:00pm Along with Dargaville High School will face Bay Of Islands College in the plate final, kick off being at 2:30pm

The Adam Blair select XIII played the Warriors Academy team for the third consecutive year as apart of the opening day for Rugby League Northland Premiership starting. Despite the game being tied up at 16all at half time the Warriors Academy team pulled away in the second half to win 44-16.

After two rounds in the Rugby League Northland Scott Electrical Premiership, Moerewa Tigers, Portland Panthers, Hikurangi Stags and Muriwhenua Falcons all remain unbeaten. Moerewa beat the winless Hoki-anga Pioneers 40-24, Portland won their game 48-12 against the Horahora Broncos 48-12, Hikuranga had a good 40-16 win over Takaiwai Warriors, Muriwhenua beat the Kerikeri Makos 40-26 and Otanarei Knights get their first win of the season beating the Northern Wairoa Bulls In a close one 30-24.

Rugby Union in Northland

THE Premier Division one Club Rugby Southern Division starts tomorrow with Mid Western hosting the Western Sharks. Other fixtures for the opening round include HoraHora v Weslford, Hikurangi v Mid

Northern, Kamo v Otamatea and Olds Boys Marist v Waipu. Whilst Division two rugby has finished its third round Whangaruru defeated Mangakahia 45-5 Kaihu remain unbeaten winning 34-17 over Pipiwai, City won a close one 24-22 against Ruawai and Southern crushed Onerahi 65-5.

Easter Holidays are coming up and a Northland Taniwha are hosting a holiday program in Kerikeri rugby club, Thursday 9th April and Friday 10th April. This is for kids boys and girls aged 7-13 years. It will be host-ed by Taniwha players Cam Goodhue, Michael Stolberg, Matt Talaese, Troy Gilbert and more. With only 50 spaces available best to get in quick.

It $100 for both days or $65 for one. For more information on the event head along too www.taniwha.co.nz or email [email protected]

SkyCity are the match day sponsor and will have a “Best of the West” theme with a half-time production. It is looking likely it will be Manu Vatuvei 200th game so have quite a few ideas from the club to

obviously make it a big day.

ROUND 6: Warriors v Wests TigersSaturday 11th AprilMt Smart Stadium

NRL: 7.30pm Kick-offNSW: 5.15pm Kick-offNYC: 3.15pm Kick-offGates Open: 3.00pm

mailto:[email protected]

NZ World Cup Success Has Led to an Unprecedented Love for Cricket

By John Deaker


I don’t like cricket… I love it. Many people said the-World Cup was too long

… but I didn’t want it to end. The last few months might not have secured New Zealand it’s first World Cup victory in cricket but as someone who’s ‘invested’ ( or ‘wasted’ - as some people have argued) literally years of my life playing, practicing, coaching, watching and debating cricket the thing I’ll remember most from the last two months has been the unprecedented amount of positive discussion about cricket as a sport and the Black Caps as a team.

Cricket is a very different sport to most of the ball sports that dominate our media’s coverage in New Zealand - and despite it being viewed by most people as our summer game there isn’t great knowledge about the game throughout the general public and even many of the people in the media that report on it.

Because of this lack of knowledge, myths and baseless opinions have often been banded round relating to the Black Caps and their players over the years.

Inconsistency by the Black Caps has often been a generalization that has then become the excuse for people to follow that up with baseless opinions or theories they’ve had on why the team has been inconsistent. At times it’s also seemed almost cool for some people to make a cynical joke about the Black Caps after a loss. The reality is that most of the time we’ve punched well above our weight as a nation - and Australia are the only country that has obtained true consistency in international cricket over long periods of time in recent decades.

In a few months the Black Caps will embark on a tour of England. They’ll touch down there as favorites for the one-day series and probably the tests as well. That is a momentous achievement in itself when you com-pare England’s superior resources to New Zealand’s not to mention their much more extensive cricketing heritage to that of New Zealand.

From following the World Cup in our back yard the New Zealand public’s understanding of cricket may still not have improved much but people have been able to comprehend the simple fact that remaining unbeaten in a World Cup right through to the final was a remarkable feat for the Black Caps. New Zealanders were also able to take pride in a team that they saw giving 100% for their country and being led by a charismatic captain who was able to express himself just as well off the field as he was on it. I don’t expect most people to ever love cricket as much as I do. What I do hope though is the legacy of the 2015 World Cup will be a newfound respect for New Zealand’s cricketers and the game of cricket. This Black Caps team is predominantly young and has the potential to get even better. It’s unlikely they’ll ever obtain the consistency of the All Blacks in rugby or even what the Australian cricketers have achieved in modern times. This team will continue to ‘Dream Big’ though and with McCullum and then Kane Wil-liamson steering us ahead I hope the nation continues to ‘Dream Big’ alongside them. One day the ultimate dream might even come true.


Why Did the Black Caps Make Their First World Cup Final?

By John Deaker

IT’S natural that after the stumble at the final hurdle people will focus mainly on the poor performance by the Black Caps in the World Cup final. Yet it’s still worthwhile trying not to get bogged down by that one

poor performance and do an analysis of why this Black Caps team was able to do better in a World Cup than ever before. You could probably come up with 50 of them – but here’s a few of the key reasons why the Black Caps went further in a World Cup than ever before: 1) Brendon McCullum leading from the front : McCullum’s return to the top of the batting order co-incided with the Black Caps’ performances going to a new level. He quite literally lead from the front. His approach to his batting was so aggressive that even when he didn’t come off in the runs column his infectious attitude often meant those were the times when others in the team seemed to take the attitude that 'It's my turn to step up and deliver.' It’s easy to forget that McCullum didn’t move back up the order until early this year when the team had trou-ble nailing down an opening combination. Admittedly he was more comfortable making the move back to open the innings with the knowledge that the firepower in the middle order had developed in recent years as people like Corey Anderson and Luke Ronchi had developed their games at international level.

2) Dan Vettori succeeding in stretching his career out to the World Cup – and Jacque Kallis not making it : A year ago it seemed like Vettori might decide targeting the World Cup was too difficult after he’d strug-gled to bounce back quickly from surgery on his Achilles in 2013. To Vettori’s credit he hung in there when he could have taken the easy option and retired a very wealthy man with many post-cricket options on the table and a legacy as one of New Zealand's greatest cricketers secure. In contrast, Jacque Kallis didn’t make it to the World Cup with the South African team despite him publicly stating that the the World Cup was his intended swansong following his retirement from tests in 2013. Vettori’s presence was crucial in the semi-final victory and the absence of Kallis from the South African’s team may have been just as crucial – partly because of the value he always provided with the bat but also the balance he would have added to their bowling attack. His presence would have at least given AB de Villiers the option of taking the gloves for some of the match too. While there is no guarantee de Villiers would have done better – it’s very likely he’d have performed better behind the stumps than de Kock did that night at Eden Park.

3) Selection faith shown in Martin Guptill : In the last few decades the same faith hasn’t been shown in many players that has been shown in Guptill in the last year. Fortunately the selectors stuck with the theory that class is permanent – a pretty tempting theory in the case of Guptill when his average remained in the late 30’s despite his horror run with the bat. Even though the depth in NZ cricket is improving, the Kiwi selectors generally still need to be more patient with selection than the selectors for teams like India and Australia where so many more people are capable of making the step up to international cricket if given the opportunity. Admittedly, the New Zealand selectors were assisted by the fact that people like Dean Brownlee and Jimmy Neesham didn't take the opportunities they got at the top of the order which made it easier to justify pairing Guptill up with McCullum.

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4) Grant Elliott’s selection for the Black Caps World Cup squad : his selection in the 15 man squad ahead of Jimmy Neesham surprised many people. It wasn’t quite as surprising for those that have watched the way he has developed as a player in domestic cricket. It had been especially apparent during Elliott’s appearances for Wellington that he was prepared to play without fear and back himself more than he had in the past.

The T20 format has it’s fair share of critics but training for the T20 format has added another dimension to Elliott’s game. There’s even a bit of a similarity to the way his game’s developed to the way an abbreviated form of the game ( Martin Crowe’s Max cricket ) helped Roger Twose reinvent his career and become the 2nd ranked ODI batsman late in his career with the New Zealand team. 5) No Jesse Ryder in the Black Caps’ squad : There is sad irony in the fact that the night before the biggest match in New Zealand cricket’s history Jesse Ryder was fighting in a charity boxing match. Ryder is almost the exact opposite of Grant Elliott – and it’s very likely Elliott wouldn’t have made the squad if Ryder had persisted with being available for New Zealand and managed to prove his physical and mental health to the selectors last year. Ryder relies mainly on natural talent while Elliott’s game is based much more on the hard work he’s put into his game over the years. There is no doubt who is the better player for the culture of this Black Caps team and while Elliott’s impact on the team was most obvious at Eden Park last Tuesday night his value off the field will also have been substantial in maintaining an environment within the Black Caps that puts the team first. 6) Mike Hesson’s coaching: The diminutive Hesson has been a big enough man to allow Brendon Mc-Cullum to retain centre-stage and be the team’s true leader while also allowing the specialist coaches and trainers go about their work. Despite Hesson’s ( and even Bond and McMillan’s ) key role in taking the team to unchartered territory it’s important to realize that people that follow New Zealand cricket closely have known this always had the potential to be a special period for New Zealand cricket.Many of the individuals in the team like Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Tim Southee were well on their way to becoming world-class players before Hesson and co took the reigns – while the class of Vettori, Tay-lor and McCullum has been obvious during the last decade. What the current crop of coaches have done is they’ve helped many individuals fine-tune their skills for the international arena and assisted McCullum in steering everybody in the same direction.

7) An unprecedented amount of player depth in New Zealand Cricket: The fact that the Black Caps were able to leave players like Jimmy Neesham, BJ Watling and Matt Henry out of their initial squad is a sign of the great depth we’re establishing in New Zealand’s playing ranks. The lack of any opportunity for Watling to push for a spot in the squad – and Kyle Mills lack of any opportunity to show he’s still a world-class open-ing bowler were two of the few selection points that people could be justified in questioning. However, the competition within the team and amount of quality players in the squad was mainly a good thing that helped them to achieve the outstanding result of second in the world.



DTR Photobooth DTR was pleased to launch their new competition Train with the Vodafone Warriors at the first 2 homes games at Mt Smart.

We’re very pleased to be able to offer this chance to any league teams under the age of 16. All they need to do is nominate their team on the DTR website www.dtr.co.nz/trainingsession and then encourage their support-ers to go vote at their local DTR stores. The team with the most votes at 5pm 15th May 2015 will win an all expenses paid trip to train in Mt Smart with the Vodafone Warriors.

This competition is open to any league teams in New Zealand as long as the players are under 16 so it could be a great trip for a southern or extreme northern team!

Here’s a few of the great fan photos snapped at our stand during the games. Including a few celebrity shots!

Trey & Tiara Alatini & Siaan & Ty Penu

Roberto and Zeke. Both from East Coast Bays Barracudas U11.

Barry, Sir Peter, and Marcia Broughton

Ryan (older bro) and Liam (younger bro).

Dad: Seyla, Mum: Channa, Kids: Dontae, Lebron & Mercedez.

Bronwyn Perry

A great QUOTE from Wayne Bennett, Coach of

the Broncos "If it's to be - it's up to me"

The Newsletter TeamHere is the team that help me make the newsletter each week. Between us we make the newsletter happen - and like everything it’s a team effort.

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Correspondent

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Documents

Newsletter 66newsletter.sirpeterleitch.co.nz/files/mb_newsletter-66.pdfOn the Cricket World Cup By Murray Deaker N OTHING compares, in fact there’s nothing in the same ballpark